(Phoenix, Ariz. – December 13, 2004) Attorney General Goddard today announced that Steve M. Wilson will become Director of Communications. Mr. Wilson will be responsible for all internal and external communications for the Arizona Attorney General’s Office. He replaces Juliet Peters who returned to the private practice of law in September.

“I am very pleased to welcome Steve to the Attorney General team,” said Goddard. “His incredible background in all aspects of journalism will be a tremendous asset to Arizona law enforcement.”

Wilson brings over 30 years of newspaper experience to his new duties. For the past decade, he has been with The Arizona Republic as both columnist and deputymanaging editor. Prior to that, Wilson served as editor of the Scottsdale Progress,where he was twice named Arizona’s Community Journalist of the Year. He has held senior editing positions in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Detroit, and Lexington, Kentucky. As managing editor of the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Wilson edited a series of articles about the struggles of a Minnesota family farm that won the paper’s first Pulitzer Prize.

Wilson holds a B.A. in American history from Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin. In 1993, he was chosen for a Bradshaw Fellowship in the Humanities at Claremont Graduate School in California, and has taught as an adjunct professor at Arizona State University and Northern Arizona University. He is also a former Peace Corps volunteer, serving in Micronesia.

Wilson will begin working on December 13, 2004. He can be reached at 602-542-8351 or steve.wilson@azag.gov.